peace, love, and macrobiotics

sometimes, the worst weeks are my best weeks.

this week, my doctors laid down the law and told me i had to

get penicillin injections for my ongoing battles with infection.  i know

 it's due to the unbalanced schedule i lead, but as long as my life is

out of balance, i guess my skin is too.

i fought them pretty hard, as i haven't taken antibiotics since 2009.

sure enough, i experienced horrible side effects.  ironically, also skin

related.  i didn't get much sleep this weekend, and i was really worried

that due to the severity of the reaction i had, that i'd have to go on meds.

i usually only talk about food (or shoes) on here, but i know a lot of you

are struggling with your health, and i always want to be real with you,

because the macrobiotic community is... a community.  we support each

other, and i think that communal support is really key in healing.

well, i decided to get back to the basics to treat my symptoms.  i took

out my cutting board, and really spent time with the food.  i carefully

washed, dried, and sliced all my veggies, and i was amazed at the calm

that came over me.  a ton of emotions and thoughts that i hadn't realized

were there floated to the surface.  i calmly balanced my meal, using root

veggies, greens, seaweeds, and grains.  i took several remedies, including

aduki bean tea tonight.

my body has begun healing on its own, and i feel like my mind and my

spirit are healing with it.  i realized through this that i can trust my body.

i also realized that i really don't need coffee as much as i think i do :)

finally, i am not only trusting in god, but overwhelmed by his universal

providence.  he loved me enough to let my illness be my teacher to guide

me to the foods i knew i should be eating.  

i feel so blessed cooking these recipes, and as i cook, i can feel the energy

and love of all the amazing friends and teachers whose recipes i prepare.

i know that their wish for me was to grow strong enough to heal myself.

the movements they taught me, techniques, recipes, guidance, and patience

are with me when i cook.  i really almost lost hope this week.  i felt so

helpless and demoralized, and then i felt the love of all of my friends and

teachers who shared macrobiotics with me and knew i would be okay.

when you cook macrobiotic food, think about all the people who passed down

those recipes.  they shared them from love, and someone passed it along to

someone else who passed it along to you because the food you're cooking

enriched their life, and because they care about you.

and that is why i love macrobiotics.

carrot daikon drink!

since i didn't make this today, a photograph will be forthcoming.  in the mean time, this is a request for carrot daikon drink from a friend of mine.

carrot daikon drink is great for releasing old stores of stagnant oils and animal products.  it's particularly useful after a cleanse or fast to get that stuff up and out.

it's important when you do a regimen of carrot daikon drink to walk lots, drink lots of water, and chew your food well.  i believe intuitively that it works best that way.

also, don't do it before bed.  you'll be up peeing all night.  thank you daikon!

also also, do not eat for thirty minutes before or after carrot daikon drink unless instructed to do so by your macrobiotic counselor :)

carrot daikon drink
one serving

1 cup grated carrot (fine to semi-fine grating)
1 cup grated daikon (fine to semi-fine grating)
1 square inch nori seaweed
1/3 pickled umeboshi plum or 1/2 tsp umeboshi plum paste

bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  add carrot and daikon, return to boil, and simmer ten minutes.  add nori and ume plum.  let sit until it's cool enough to drink, and drink/eat 1 cup.  if you've got extras, i always like to share :)

user warning:  this stuff smells really, really bad.  prepare to clear out your house.  people will complain.

Preparing for a Macrobiotic Thanksgiving

Hello friends!  Your favorite macro dilettante Becky signing in!

I'm pleased to report that since the semester is winding down, I now have time to write on my blog (and shower)!

The last three months have been a case-study in yang energy and yin cravings.  It would be more interesting if I were reading about it and not living it, but life is learning.

Macrobiotics is about more than food... it's about the intention that goes into the ingredients that go into the dish!  This year, as soon as you start shopping, start filling your heart with thanks.

This time last year, I had no idea that I would meet all the friends I met at the Kushi Institute, so this year I'm giving thanks for them.  To my new friends who helped me see macrobiotics, balance, and happiness in a new light, you are in my heart, and my meal is dedicated to you.

making macro thanksgiving

pre-meal preparation in three easy steps

1.  i was promised a turkey.

Serving steamed greens and wilted kale for the big meal seems like an excellent way to alienate your family and friends for the coming year.  

A lot of us have folks in our lives who don't share our hippie healthful lifestyle.  Maybe they eat meat three times a day.  Maybe they've never spent time in a collective vegan community.  Maybe it's easier to find a 12-gauge shotgun in their homes than a pencil with an eraser.  That last one is a tip of the hat to my  family ;)

I assumed that nobody would eat my macro food last Thanksgiving, so I made enough for me and my mom and left it at that.  I turned my back for one second and the steamed greens were GONE.  My wild rice evaporated.  My macro apple pie?  Mere crumbs.

The moral of the story is that in the midst of all that butter, people gravitate towards calm, centered foods.  That doesn't mean that I'm serving zen macrobiotic brown rice bowls.  It just means that if you cook flavorful, real food, people will eat it.

2.  pickles don't grow on trees

If you are making grains, beans, nut dishes, or pickles, be sure you give yourself plenty of time.

Pickles take longer in the winter.  Quick pickles that would take 6-10 hours in the warm summer sun will take 2-4 days in the cool winter.  Just keep checking on them, tasting them, and if anything's furry, removing it.

Start your soaking on Wednesday morning or night.  For dishes that need to soak and then ferment, start NO LATER than Tuesday night.  Cashew Goat Cheese, I'm looking at you.

3.  get your groceries

Here are two things you can do at Whole Foods that will save you money and time:

Ask them to de-skin, de-bone, and/or grill your fish.  For free, they'll take the skin and bones.  For $5, they'll toss it on the grill.

Ask them for parts of vegetables only macro people use.  If you need daikon tops for food or for daikon hip-bath, they'll clip the tops and give them to you for a reasonable fee.  I got enough daikon greens for three baths for $2.50.  I'm pickling broccoli stems, and the first place I go is Whole Foods.

Take it One Meal at a Time

A lot of my clients who are new to a healing diet ask me what they

should make if they only have the time or energy to make

I want you to know that's normal.  When you read about a healing diet

online, it's a lot of bizarre sauces and obscure cooking techniques you've

never heard of.  A lot of folks are just starting out.  They don't own a suribachi, 

and  they have never seen an umeboshi plum in their life.  In fact, the closest 

they've come to Asia is seeing Memoirs of a Geisha.

That's okay.  Most people who are starting this diet are in the same place.

They're worried about the health of their children, they're experiencing a

major health crisis, it "just makes sense..." whatever your reason, it can be

really intimidating to get started.

I'm telling you that you can.  If you look at the picture above, it should

pretty much all look familiar to you.  Those are all the ingredients you need

to make your first healthy meal.  Here's the scoop:

We'll be cooking:

Nutty Summer Rice

Steamed Green Salad with Sunflower Seed Dressing

Poached or Baked Salmon (your choice of 2 recipes)

Fresh Watermelon Slices

+ ingredients +

-long grain brown rice

-raw almonds or pecans

-olive oil

-sea salt

-raw sunflower seeds (hulled)

-vinegar.  i prefer umeboshi vinegar for its sweet, mild flavor and digestive healing properties.

-scallions

-kale

-salmon

-2 lemons

-1 stalk celery (optional)

-fresh parsley

-brown rice cereal or bread crumbs (optional for baking style)

-fresh watermelon

+ right off the bat +

- preheat oven to 400.

- decide if you want to bake or poach your salmon.  if you're poaching it, set a large pot of water to boil

- set a large, deep pot of water to boil.  the amount of water doesn't matter.  this will be for blanching your kale.

- take one cup brown rice and combine with 1 1/2 cups spring water.  bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until soft, about 20 minutes.

- finely mince scallions and fresh parsley, and store in separate bowls.

- strip kale leaves off the stem and rip into large pieces.  this can be messy.

+ get this party started +

nutty rice

- when your oven has reached 400, place your raw nuts on a baking sheet and roast until cooked, approx 5-10 minutes, tossing after five minutes.  if you're batty like me, set a timer.  i'm notorious for char-broiling nuts.

- toss rice, nuts, a few drops of umeboshi vinegar, and a splash of olive oil.  combine well.

boiled salad with sunflower dressing

- roast sunflower seeds in a small pan until they turn a light golden brown and begin to pop.

- crush sunflower seeds in food processor or chop with knife.

-combine with minced scallions, a splash of umeboshi vinegar, and enough water to turn it to a paste, approximately 2 tbsp.

- toss kale leaves in boiling water and submerge completely.  remove when kale leaves are bright green, slowly turning darker, approximately 3 minutes.

-combine kale and dressing and enjoy.

poached salmon

- set 2 inches of water to boil in a deep pot.  add 2 springs parsley, celery stalk, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 2 tsp. salt (this is familiar to those of you who made the salmon sandwiches.  it's darn good poaching sauce.  why not?)

- submerge salmon, skin side down 12 minutes or until cooked through.

baked salmon

- crush brown rice cereal until the size of bread crumbs, or use bread crumbs.  combine with 2 tsp. fresh lemon zest, 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 cup olive oil.

-place salmon skin-side down in a shallow oven pan.  add 1/2-inch layer of bread crumbs, and bake for 12-15 minutes at 400 or until cooked through.

fresh watermelon

-slice.  safety first.

Dried Tofu

What makes dried tofu so special?  It has a chewy, springy texture that gives a meat-like flavor to any stir-fry!  It takes a sweet or salty flavor well, having a mildly sweet flavor on its own.  If you're gluten-free, this is a super food!  You can find it online through Natural Import Company.  It's a little pricey, but totally worth it if you're feeling strapped for cooking ideas!  I'm cooking with dried tofu tomorrow, so I'll put up two new recipes!

It's A Dark Brown, Rich Beverage

They say civilization is only three meals away from anarchy.

After five days in the car, it happens a lot faster than that.

We decided our collective kidneys were fried after days of coffee and hard crackers, so we decided to start a family three-day remedy regimen.  The family that slow-cooks beans together stays together.

What I hope to accomplish in drinking this tea is discharging stagnant kidney energy, thus sleeping better, experiencing less bloating, and lose those bags under my eyes from late nights on the road!

1 cup dried organic aduki beans

5 cups spring water

Kombu, wakame or nori seaweed, postage stamp-sized (optional)

Set five cups water to boil.  If you tend to be dry and thin, either avoid this tea or be sure to use the seaweed.  If you start to feel yourself growing tense after drinking this a few days, add the seaweed.

Simmer aduki beans in boiling water for one hour.  Most of the liquid should boil down, and the brown liquid that's left should be thick as Paula Deen's tears.  I drink this at least an hour before bed, because sometimes it gives me an upset stomach.

Follow for three days or as directed by a counselor.

Food First Aid: Cabbage Poultice

It's been an eternity since I last posted, so I apologize.  I have about six huge posts saved up for you guys that I've just been sitting on.  They'll be beautiful, I promise!

- - + - -

I just moved home, and I've been cleaning out the attic.  It's boxes on boxes under boxes beneath rugs that conceal yet more... well, you know.  So I'm throwing away old college Japanese tests and three copies of Homer's Odyssey when something tiny and brown jumps out of the box, on my leg, and scurries away.

Needless to say, I woke up today on a road trip to the Kushi Institute to find my calf swollen, red, itchy, and angry.  A patch about the size of an Oreo cookie was raised like a welt with a big red mark in the middle.  It was a spider bite.

I just got bitten by a tick a month ago, and had another, much scarier spider bite in high school, so I knew what I wanted to do.  I took a road trip pit-stop at the Waynesville, Virginia Super Walmart.  It was a lovely Super Walmart.  It has probably never seen a Hillary '08 shirt, an organic tomato, or anything portraying Barack Obama in a positive light.

At the Waynesville Super Walmart, I snagged myself a green cabbage, making sure the darker outer layers were still hanging around.  Organic would have been ideal, but it worked.  At this point, the spider bite had gotten really uncomfortable, hot, and really swollen.

I applied a cabbage poultice for four hours, trading the leaves once an hour.  I didn't see any difference after one hour, a small difference after three, and a remarkable difference between hours three and four. The area directly targeting the bite on the cabbage leaf had actually wilted and partially dissolved.

Six hours later, I can still see a small round circle, but the swelling and redness are almost gone.  This is the second time cabbage has really helped me out with a painful bug bite.

- - + - -

I would recommend going to the doctor's office for ANY bug bite that looks bad.  Spider bites in particular can be really nasty if left untreated, and can result in surgery or limb loss, so I say it's ALWAYS better safe than sorry.  I resorted to the cabbage because I was in the middle of rural Virginia and was desperate, and just wanted to share my story.

If the doctor OK's it and says it's not dangerous, but I'm still feeling discomfort from swelling or itching, the cabbage really helped me.

What's Good for the Goose...

How do you raise a family macro?  It's an issue I've thought a lot about.  It's often a colossal challenge getting both parents on board, let alone grandparents, extended family, and other parents.

It's one thing when you explain to your family and friends that your child has a sensitivity or a serious allergy to peanuts/dairy/gluten/etc.  It's a whole lot harder to say, "Well, our family believes that really nobody should be eating much of that, so we don't keep cheese in the house."

Funny enough, I actually grew up next door to a macrobiotic family.  Our family was very NON-macro, and there were always Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies in the kitchen.  We ate spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, Lunchables for lunch... normal American stuff.  You'd think the macro neighbor kids would have had no interest in these sinful, processed American snacks.

Wrong.

Between the two of them, the kids could polish off a full box of Oreos in about twenty seconds.  There wouldn't even be crumbs.  Their systems were so unused to sugar that it was almost like drugs...  They had wild sugar cravings and were probably manic afterwards once the sugar binge kicked in.

I tell this story because as much as we'd like our kids to stick to the plan when they're at a friend's house, the fact is that only your child can control what he or she eats.  And if there's non-macro food to be had, they'll probably eat it.  And if they eat it, they probably won't feel very good afterwards.

So what can we say to our kids that will stick with them?

First I tried to explain that it was about sugar.  Then I realized that it was bigger than sugar.
Then I tried to explain that it was about food.  But it's bigger than food.
Macrobiotics is about the way we see our health.  Our community.  Our environment.  Our planet.  The universe, and the energy that makes us function.

If I had to explain it to my child, I guess I would say that we eat a plant and grain-based diet because meat and dairy and sweets make our body and our thoughts loud and crazy, and we want to be calm and happy.  There are some times when it's okay to be a little loud and a little crazy, but not every day.  I would tell them how the Earth has so many plants and vegetables and herbs that each have a special purpose.  Sometimes the smallest or ugliest or weirdest plants are the strongest, most important plants of all.

When we understand how important the plants are, we understand how important it is to take care of our planet.  If we get sick, we might need those herbs and vegetables, so we need a planet to grow them on!  And when we care about the planet, we learn to be considerate of others.

The hardest thing is explaining why not every family is like ours.  If meat and sugar is no good for me, why do my friends eat it every day?

I don't actually have a good answer for that.  I guess my answer is, "When you're 18 you can eat meat and dairy and sugar every day and see how it goes for you," but that doesn't exactly feel right.  I guess there are things that set every family apart.  Every family has things that matter and things that make it special.  Some people disagree with me, but I tend to have a live-and-let-live policy for other families.  As long as you respect my family and agree to disagree, we're good.  You don't politically or religiously indoctrinate my eight-year-old, and I won't feed yours burdock and take away her bacon.

I'd like to close this by saying that parenting "theory" is a lot easier than parenting "practice."  The reality of parenting is so much messier and more complicated than anything I could describe without experiencing it, so I write this with the hopes that perhaps it resonates with some of you who are going through this issue in your own lives.  This is something I've thought about in the context of my own life when debating whether or not to have kids, so I approach it not from a perspective of judging other peoples' parenting skills, but rather examining and weighing my own.

Good luck!

Three Ways To Sneak Your Kids Vegetables

Two out of my three first swear-words were said about vegetables.

I remember them clearly because of the heavy silence that followed.  The space between crime and punishment.  Those seconds seem to last forever as your eyes dart between the horrified faces of your parents and grandparents.

The first one was used at the age of six to describe the unpleasant tactile experience of consuming a lima bean.  The second one was dropped about two years later.  I wanted to add emphasis to my unwillingness to consume a slice of meatloaf with bell peppers in it.  It worked.

Parents, hopefully your kids aren't as bad as I was.  I'd like to provide a list of kid-friendly veggie recipes in the hopes that it alleviate the tug-of-war that so often accompanies the phrase...

eat your vegetables or no dessert

hide them in the spaghetti
Tomatoes are nightshades, so in macrobiotics we try to limit our consumption because they're very acidic.  Some studies have even suggested that they increase arthritis-related pain.

That being said, most kids are used to their spaghetti with tomato sauce, and they won't eat it if the red stuff is missing.  Lucky for us, tomatoes have such a strong flavor, they cover up everything.  Water-saute carrots, onions, zucchini, and even turnips until very soft.  Run the veggies through the food processor and do fifty percent spaghetti sauce, fifty percent veggie mix.

tuck them in sushi
Sushi is everywhere these days.  Kids like it because the white rice is sweet, and sushi restaurants and grocery stores often load the vinegar the rice is soaked in with sugar.  If you can make your own sushi at home, it's quick, fun for the kids, and a great way to sneak in veggies.  Instead of seaweed, try wrapping your sushi with three steamed collard green leaves, overlapping.  I'll do a photo demonstration of this soon.  The sushi won't stick together quite as well as seaweed, but it's a delicious and sneaky way to get kids to eat steamed greens.

stick them in the dessert
Steam a butternut squash and puree with a few tablespoons of brown rice syrup, some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little pinch of salt for a delicious pudding.  I also love this Avocado Chocolate Pudding/Ice Cream.

If You've Got the Poison...

re • me • dy
(noun)  Middle English remedie.  The process by which a concoction of grated daikon radish becomes a bout of self-induced diarrhea.

When I began this lifestyle, I thought there was no WAY vegetables could have as powerful an effect on the body as prescription medication.

I had time to think about the potential holes in my logic after one too many Carrot-Daikon remedies.  There is remarkable clarity to be found in the bathroom at four in the morning.

My face is wrapped in a washcloth soaked in hot ginger water.
Beneath the cloth is a thick paste of grated fresh lotus root.
This is the scariest image you'll ever see on my blog.

There are several traditional Japanese and Chinese remedies regularly used in the macrobiotic diet and practice.  Some of them are external, like the Lotus Root Plaster (see haunting image to your right).

Others, like Carrot-Daikon Drink and Ume Sho Kuzu, are taken internally at specific times of day.  I do not recommend taking these remedies without the guidance of someone who knows what they're talking about, like a macrobiotic counselor, acupuncturist, or herbalist.  They can have a profound impact on the body, especially when taken over the course of a few weeks.

That being said, here is my quick and dirty guide to remedies.  If you have been told that you need them, this is how I'd do it...

Lotus Root Plaster

- 1 fresh lotus root, cleaned and dried
- 1 tbsp flour (whole wheat pastry or rice flour)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger root (if your condition is sensitive, omit)
- Washcloth

Grate lotus root with fine metal or ceramic circle grater until it forms a smooth paste.
Add flour and juice from fresh ginger and mix with hands.
Put on ugly jammies.  This will jack up your good jammies.
Before bed, apply 1/2 inch-thick layer of paste on sinuses, chest, and swollen glands.  Wrap face in gauze or washcloth with air holes, and prepare to lay very, very still.


In the morning, remove what's left of the paste from your skin with a good, hot shower, and prepare for your eyes, nose, and lungs to start discharging infection.  This means that you need to start carrying tissue.


Follow up with another night of lotus root plaster or at the very least, body scrubs.


In the morning I'd recommend changing your sheets.  When this stuff falls off your face, it doesn't look good.


Carrot Daikon Drink
- 1 cup grated fresh carrot (fine grater)
- 1 cup grated fresh daikon (fresh grater)
- 1 1/2 cup water
- Dash shoyu/tamari
-1" square nori seaweed


I like to make this in the morning before breakfast.  Do not eat 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after Carrot Daikon Drink unless instructed to do so by your counselor.


Grate your carrots and daikon on your fine grater.  If using a ceramic circle grater, rotate your arm in the same direction.  This is a helpful meditation and keeps consistent energy in your dish.


Combine all ingredients in a small pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for ten minutes.  Drink while hot, and eat all the solid ingredients.  This makes a good amount of remedy, so don't try to finish it yourself if it doesn't feel natural.


The one thing I miss the most about the Kushi Institute is making remedies at night with my fellow cooks.  I can't tell you guys how cool it is to simmer black soybeans at midnight with a bunch of close friends.

It's the little things in life...

Bech's Well-Tempered Frigidaire

Whole Foods is a great grocery store.  You can walk in empty-handed and walk out with a giant basket of rare, exotic, organic veggies having just spent $200.

Many of us don't have a local Whole Foods.  Even more of us don't have $200 to drop on groceries.  We've got a Walmart, a Kroger, or a Stop n' Shop and about $30-40 to spend on groceries.

I'm here to tell you that it's possible to feed your family healthy food using a few quick tricks.  This week I'm going to do a Walmart Challenge, where I walk into Walmart with $20 and walk out with the ingredients to make a healthy family meal in an hour.

In the mean time, here's my guide to the 4 "S's:"

Scrambles

Soups

Sides

Snacks

With my shopping list, you'll never go without a healthy meal, and you'll save TONS of money!

SHOPPINGU-JITSU

The Way of Shopping

Our goal is to get our vegetables to do as many different dances as possible before they go bad. We also want a bunch of basic grains and seasonings that won't go bad and can be purchased in bulk and forgotten about. This will eat up the bulk of your spending as you can't really get these at Costco or Kroger.

PRE-BUY:

Brown Rice ($3)

Quinoa ($6)

Millet ($3)

Adzuki Beans/Black Beans/Chickpeas  ($1-2 per organic can, $2-4 bulk dried)

Umeboshi Plum Vinegar ($4)

Brown Rice Vinegar ($4)

Mirin ($9)

Shoyu/Tamari ($5)

Olive Oil ($5)

Sesame Oil ($7)

Sea Salt ($3)

Miso ($10)

TOTAL: Between $45-$70, depending on how comprehensive you want to be. The good thing is, these are long-term goods that you don't need to repurchase very often at all.

Here is your shopping list. Look at how 90% of these ingredients are used for the other 3 S's. The special ingredient section is what you can buy "day-of." They're things ONLY used in this section.

SCRAMBLE

Alias: Tofu Scramble, Fried Rice, Tacos, Pizza, (If you're eating wide)

The "Scramble" can take any of the aforementioned forms. It's basically a bunch of vegetables added in a sensible combination, cooked with a little oil in a skillet, and seasoned accordingly. It can take as little as ten minutes (tofu scramble, tacos, omelette), or as long as two-three hours (good quality "pizza" with an organic, whole-grain crust and some garden-fresh veggies. No cheese, of course.)

Known Associates:

Garlic

Onion

Carrots

Celery

Napa Cabbage

Bok Choi

Broccoli

Asian Water Spinach

Kale

Watercress

Special Ingredients:

Brown Rice Taco Shell

Gluten-Free Organic Pizza Kit

Eggs? (Substitute Tofu or Tempeh for vegan)

Soba/Mung Bean Noodles (Saifun)

SOUPS

Alias: Kimchee Soup, Nabeyaki Udon, Winter Veggie Soup, Adzuki Bean Soup, Miso Soup

I was scared of making soup for so long. But I've been living off of a "mother soup" for about three weeks now (a soup that just keeps hanging around because I keep adding more water and veggies... kind of like a sourdough "mother loaf.").

Known Associates:

Onions

Celery

Carrots

Bok Choi

Napa Cabbage

Bean Sprouts

Shiitake Mushrooms

Burdock Root

Daikon Radish

Special Ingredients:

Rice or Bean Noodles (Available in the Asian or Chinese section of your grocery store.  Alias: Maifun/Saifun)

Kimchee

Miso

Adzuki Beans

Lentils

SIDE DISHES

You can really have fun here. My advice? Look to the veggie that you have the most of, and really let it sparkle. Play up the natural sweetness of carrot by making a tamari and brown rice syrup teriyaki sauce! Use dark dandelion greens with bright watercress for a great steamed green dish!

Known Associates:

Whatever's In Your Fridge

SNACKS

"Macro Snacks" don't really exist. Most of them taste like the petting zoo pellets you buy for 25¢ at the zoo. The best macro snacks that I've found are either pickles or leftovers. That being said, this is where you can be spontaneous at the grocery store. As long as you stock your fridge (and your stomach) with the balanced, nutritious vegetables and grains mentioned above, you can get some fun little snacks here, like seaweed snacks or toasted seeds. My drug of choice is rice cakes with almond butter. Om nom nom.

There you have it! Bech's Well-Tempered Frigidaire!

Macrobiotic Theory: Aggression

Macrobiotic diagnosis most often focuses on physical ailments, but a major symptom of general poor health is attitude.

A healthy, balanced body has a healthy and balanced mind.  Western culture focuses on illness in terms of physical pain.  Mean-spiritedness, unkindness, and aggression are symptoms.  If mind, body, and spirit are connected, a frayed or aggressive mind means an imbalanced body.

That being said, mean people still irritate me.

It's hard to look at a person who is cutting you down and say, "Wow!  They must have a pretty serious dietary imbalance.  I wonder how their colon is doing..." but as a macrobiotic person, it's important to view angry people in their proper context.

This week, jacked up on sugar that I really should never have eaten, I found myself getting really angry.  A girl I know said something mean and petty, and I got wrapped up.
Do I know this person very well?  Not really.
Is it possible for me to cease all interactions with her?  Pretty easily.
Was the comment even directed at me?  No, but I felt targeted.

If I consider this from a macrobiotic perspective, this is not only a symptom of her imbalance- it's a symptom of my imbalance.  I was so hyped up on sugar and caffeine that I allowed myself to get riled.

I know for a fact that this girl has a health-weakening diet and lifestyle.  Think about the mean girls you went to high school with.  A steady diet of alcohol, sugar, and sporadic meals will make any person aggressive and nuts.

This is how I understand the anger-yin imbalance relationship.

I crave sugar and chocolate when I'm stressed out.  I just want the quick carbs and sweetness to create calm.  Once I have them, I bounce to the middle for a couple of hours (Temporary Calm).

Unfortunately, these effects are only temporary.  Because we're pulling our body into an artificial calm, when we come back, our original symptoms (stress) return.  This time, they're accompanied by craving.  If I don't get chocolate, I start to get cranky and angry!

It's a band-aid, not a cure.

Listen, we're all human.  Like I said, I had sugar this week.  When you're upset, the last thing you want to do is steam some kale.

The reason I made this chart is so that we can have compassion for people who have taken it to the next level.  They're not only angry, they're targeting or making fun of other people.  To me, aggression is the next stage.  

Stress <  Anger  < Aggression

Michio Kushi's intention in sharing macrobiotics with America was to work to create one peaceful world.

When we are balanced, the anger of others doesn't stick to us.  It breaks like water on rocks.  There's no anger in us to respond.  We have peace.  As each person who comes to macrobiotics finds peace, we begin to reduce the anger in others, because they have no target.  Person by person, we start to build a peaceful world.

Rich People, Poor Food

This is Beacon Hill.

Two homes in the Beacon Hill area are currently on the market, priced at $14.5 million and $18 million.  Not for the likes of plebs like you or I is this Hill.

I used to work on Beacon Hill, and I love to go back and walk up and down the streets, sipping fashionable tea as I watch professional dog walkers wrestle with massive Saint Bernards up and down the street.

It's a beautiful area, and believe it or not, the people who live there are really nice folks.  I wrote a piece for a local organization, and they were friendly and warm to the feckless intern in their midst.

What I just can't understand is this...

Why do people who can afford to eat better... eat cheap junk food?

I saw a woman on Beacon Hill this week carrying the $1200 Louis Vuitton bag I'd been coveting.  This is not remarkable.  The combined retail value of the handbags walking down that street could fund a nuclear research facility.

The strange thing is that all of her children were eating those 99-cent firecracker popsicles.  You know... the red, white and blue ones you used to get at summer camp that are equal parts corn syrup, water, and experimental food dyes.  The artificial cherry flavoring was invented by some scientist who never tasted a real cherry.

I stopped in at the local grocery store looking for a snack.  In the interest of full disclosure, I've seen worse.  There are those city convenience stores where the only vegetable is a Ho-Ho.

But the prognosis wasn't good.  Here's a look at the cereal aisle.

You can see we've got our root vegetables, our grains, and our deep leafy greens.

Oh, my bad.  That's Cap'n Crunch and Weetabix.









T'wasn't all dire.  They made an effort with some dried fruits and nuts.  At about $5-$9 a pop, they were a little pricey for the likes of me and mine, but if you're cruising $14 million houses, a $5 box of wasabi peas won't hit you where it hurts.

Still...  A lot of this "health food" was misleading.  Yogurt-dipped pretzels were nestled right alongside roasted almonds.  Everything was given a really peaceful "organic" looking label.  It made me feel like a kindly Vermont grandmother tucked my Assorted Dried Fruits in their plastic box and sealed it with a loving kiss before heading out back to sing the cows to sleep.

Holy unseasonal, totally non-regional produce, Batman.  The last time an avocado grew in Massachusetts, I'm pretty sure dinosaurs roamed the earth.


The point of this journey through the grocery store isn't to nitpick and highlight the fact that almost every one of those vegetables is a nightshade from a different climate.

I just want to know why nobody has a problem with constantly ingesting food that atrophies our health.

Especially people who have the financial and educational resources to care.

The brunch, breakfast, and lunch restaurants on Beacon Hill are filled with eggs, ham, bacon, and sugar.  Donuts, pastries, cakes, croissants...  Why is nobody insisting on better food?

Why do the financially impoverished neighborhoods of Boston have higher quality produce and restaurants than the most expensive square mile in New England?

What are they eating?  At first I thought they were leaving Beacon Hill to get organic produce and food.  Then I saw the family of popsicle-wielders and thought again.

I'm not passing down judgement.  There is no finger-shaking here.  When it's on TV, in our magazines, advertised on the subway, listed in the Michelin Guide, subsidized by the US Government, and carried in every store on the planet, it's not a matter of being aware or unaware.  We're being fed.

And I believe that as a nation, for richer or for poorer, we deserve better than what's being put on our plates.

Tofu Cheese!

Greetings, snackers!

Well, little brother will be arriving at the Kushi Institute this weekend for his kitchen residency, and I couldn't be more surprised. If you had asked me two months ago the likelihood of my brother coming to KI, I would have said that it was DEFINITELY possible. In fact, I think he's volunteering with Dick Cheney, Paula Deen, and all four of the Beatles!

I'm really excited that he's willing to give macrobiotics a try and abandon the Standard American Diet, and I'll be excited to see what happens as his tastebuds adjust and he begins to detox.

On the topic of delicious foods that omnivores don't eat, TOFU CHEESE!

Tofu cheese is not soy cheese. Soy cheese comes in a little vacuum-sealed brick, contains appetizing effusions like "Now with non-dairy lactic acid!" and doesn't melt at any temperature lower than Chernobyl.

Tofu cheese is made from real, whole foods, so unlike soy cheese, it will actually go south pretty fast. This isn't going to be a problem, because (also unlike soy cheese), you'll probably eat it really quickly.

It's minimally processed, relying instead on natural fermentation to get that cheesy flavor. I have it filed under pickles because the fermentation method it undergoes is nearly identical to the pickling process. It isn't stringy. It has a consistency more like ricotta. Observe:

Step 1: The cold, cold smushing of the tofu.

Step 2: The tofu warms up, and what used to feel like a punishment actually feels kind of cool.

Tofu cheese is incredibly delicious, and the bacteria that form from the fermentation process have all kinds of goodies to offer a deficient digestive tract. I hear it's also really high in B12. This would be a fun one to make with the kids, because there's no cutting and no cooking involved, plus it's GREAT on pizza with a little basil, some onions, and some olives!

Tofu Cheese

2 blocks firm tofu, pressed and squeezed until most of the water has drained.

1-2 tbsp. umeboshi plum paste

3 tbsp. light miso (we used South River Miso's Chickpea)

3 tbsp. dark miso (we used South River Miso's Dandelion Leek)

Kneed ingredients together until they form a soft, squishy paste. I kneeded my tofu mixture for about ten minutes. I'm trying to work on infusing positive energy into my food, so I played some Usher/Ludacris collaboration for the benefit of my cheese. I'm anticipating a block of cheese with some serious mojo. That's not just any energy. Those are some pretty serious jams.

Press the tofu cheese in a glass/pyrex container, and allow to ferment (sealed) 6-12 days. On the far end of 12 days, I would definitely only keep for another day or two, and days 12-14, I would definitely cook it.

Enjoy, and I'll post pictures of our finished product!!

The Deceptively Simple Guide to Pickling

It's been hard to keep this blog here at Kushi. When you're eating, sleeping, and breathing macrobiotics, at the end of the day, the hardest thing is to sit down and consider... "What's missing? It must be MORE MACROBIOTICS!"

One thing I set out to learn was how to pickle. May says I eat so many pickles, I'm going to pickle myself. She's probably right. I'm mummifying myself with every slice of briny daikon. Forever young, I want to be forever young...

When we pickle here, we don't use cucumbers. Here are some of the things we pickle:

broccoli stems ++ daikon radish ++ onion slivers ++ cabbage slices

To pickle, slice into matchsticks or THIN slivers (as thin as you can get them).

If you plan on making umeboshi vinegar pickles, do a salt rub... about 2-3 tsp for a 2-3 quart batch.

Submerge in a mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part fermented pickling mixture. These include:

shoyu ++ tamari ++ umeboshi plum vinegar

NOTE: if using tamari, I'd do maybe 3 parts water to 1/2 part tamari. For instance, 3 cups water, 1/2 cup tamari. It's much, much stronger than shoyu. If you pickles are still too salty, you can certainly do a rinse.

After thinly slicing your vegetables, submerge them completely in the liquid brining mixture. If in a hot climate, pickle 24-48 hours at room temperature. If a cold climate, 3-4 days should be good. It's very important that none of the vegetables are above the water level, as they can mold and rot in an aerobic environment. Translation: Keep them under.

After your time is up, you can store the pickles (preferably IN the brine) in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. Placing the pickles in the cold environment of the fridge slows the pickling process and keeps them from going bad.

Pickling encourages the growth of a kind of bacteria that the American diet is strongly deficient in. We eat pickles here at KI once a day, after dinner. It's the highlight of my culinary day. I hope you enjoy and have good pickling experiences!

Miso 3-Ways

I've been feeling awesome lately, because I've been dutifully drinking my morning miso. I used to get these "morning colds," when I'd wake up and my nose would be running like crazy, and I'd be a sneezing and sniffling mess! I added morning miso, and that cleared up in two days.

If your miso is in a rut, there are many great ways to break free and get a great, lively morning dish!

Vary your dish in terms of protein, carbs, simmering flavors (celery and onion become bolder the longer they cook), and healing intention, and you'll never get bored. You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Miso 3-Ways

"Minnesota Miso" "Mirepois Miso" "Grounding Miso"

"Minnesota Miso"

• Chickpeas
• Leeks
• Wild Rice

"Mirepois Miso"

• Carrots
• Celery
• Onions
• Whole Grain/Gluten-Free Spiral Pasta

"Grounding Miso"

• Carrots
• Burdock
• Daikon
• Onions

The Countdown Begins! And How Not to Make Azuki Beans

Got my Greens, my Grains, my Beans, and my Brains baked salmon.

In three short weeks, I'll begin my macrobiotic residency. It's SO HARD to believe! My last day at the tea shop is on Saturday, and believe it or not, I'm going to miss my customers a lot.

Some of them.

Not Steve.

I'm trying to clean up my diet a little bit so that when I get there, I don't detox too hard and fast. I want to bring my A-game and be the best volunteer ever! I have a feeling that it will be a lot to learn, both in terms of cooking and also culturally. I have a big personality and even bigger hair, and I know that that's uh... not exactly the macro culture. I love glitter and rhinestones and interior design and Dolly Parton and third-wave feminism, so it's going to be an interesting ride.

I feel like this is a lot like going to Scotland. I lived in Scotland in college for about six months, and it was TOTALLY a curve-ball decision for me... everybody thought I was going to Japan. I thought I was going to Japan. Apparently not, according to Mel Gibson.

I was so nervous to go, and the first night, I cried for about three hours thinking I had made a horrible mistake. It didn't help that the lights didn't work, the internet didn't work, my phone didn't work, and it got dark at 2 PM. When you're sitting alone in a sleeping bag, it's pitch black, and your dorms were erected on the site of the largest communal witch burning in world history, it feels like a message.

It ended up being the most powerful, meaningful big decision I've ever made. It redirected the course of my life. I made some amazing friends, saw places I'll remember forever, and was in the right place at the right time.

I hope this is one of those instances. I hope this is one of those "right place, right time" kind of things. If I could throw out a couple of prayer requests, I would really appreciate it if you guys would pray for me. If you could pray that God preserve my health in the winter months (when I usually get sick), that I have a welcoming heart to everyone I meet at this internship, and that I have open eyes to perceive the blessings God is introducing into my life.

Now for the grub.

(Pictured above)

GREENS, WINTERIZED

Collard Greens

2 tbsp. grated ginger root, squeezed.

1-2 tbsp. gluten-free tamari

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. sesame oil

Fresh mushrooms (these are shiitake), sliced into strips

Fresh onions and garlic cloves to taste, minced

Mix your liquids into a sauce (not the oil). Heat sesame oil at the bottom of a big pot, then toss in your garlic. Saute 1 minute at med-high heat, then add your onions. I like to cook these 3 minutes, so they're nice and toasty and brown.

Add your mushrooms. Swish them around about 5 minutes, until they begin to release their delicious, mushroomy juice. Add greens, then add your sauce. Stir until all the green start to wilt, then cover and cook for five minutes. Don't forget about it. I did. I burned it. Stir periodically. When the greens are dark green, you're done!

HOW NOT TO MAKE AZUKI BEANS

When you soak them overnight, do not forget about them and soak them for two days.

If you do this, rinse and drain them, then cover them and put them in the fridge, and cook them ASAP.

When you cook them, be sure you read the directions and put exactly the right amount of water in. Don't eyeball it and add six cups for one cup of beans. This only ends in sadness.

If you've been soaking them for two days, do not cook them for two hours. They will no longer be categorized as "beans." They may not even be categorized as biological, plant-based material. They become a mineral. Or possibly an element.

Season them with a splash of tamari. Do not season them with anything else. Do not listen to the anime character on the side of the bag who says " 早く！砂糖を加える！”

Do not microwave them for breakfast the next morning because you can't be bothered to use a skillet like a civilized person.

Faking Bacon

There is never a good reason to have bacon. There are terrible reasons to have bacon, and then there are great reasons.

Terrible reasons:

Being hungry
Free continental breakfast
Eating a BLT
Hating swine

Great reasons:

Ironic accidents

That’s pretty much the only one I can think of. If you just got hit by a car on your birthday, for which you were given a ski trip to the Alps, I’m not going to be the one to stop you from eating bacon if that’s what makes you happy. I’m just macrobiotic. I’m not unreasonable.

But barring strange and unusual accidents, you should probably steer clear of the sizzly stuff. Look at it this way: Back when the Old Testament was written, they had leprosy, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, massive, carnivorous desert lions, and God banned pork.

That’s unsettling.

If you’re like me, you were raised on bacon. If you’re Southern, it’s in everything. Its ubiquity in home cooking warrants a place on the periodic table of the elements. It’s in your meat dishes, your vegetable dishes, your French fries, your desserts… and it’s usually stored in a reusable run-off jar under your kitchen sink.

When I became macrobiotic, one of the last meals I ate had bacon in it. I threw it up, and it lost some (but not all) of its appeal. Last week I was screamed at by a regular customer at the coffee shop who wrecks my world every Tuesday morning. I very much look forward to addressing her shortcomings in my final week at the shop. I came home and for the first time in several years, truly, deeply needed bacon.

Did I mention I also had six ears of corn hanging around?

So here's how you fake bacon in dishes. Don't go out and buy "facon." For one thing, it's almost never gluten-free. For another, it's usually processed to the point that it's no longer real food. If something has been flattened, mashed, and dyed to resemble the food it's avoiding, for your health's sake, you might want to just eat the original. At least you know where it came from.

I LOVE this fake bacon because:

1. It's from real, whole foods.

2. It's cheaper than fake bacon.

3. It tastes amazing

4. It can be easily crumbled into "bacon bits."

Mmmm...

TEMPEH BACON

1 pack of tempeh, I prefer wild rice.

2-3 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

2-3 tsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Slice tempeh into thin, bacon-esque strips. Heat sesame oil at medium-high in a cast iron skillet. Throw in the strips, and as they sizzle, hit them with a generous squirt of Bragg's. Let it really sizzle. Flip, and allow further sizzling to occur.

The important thing is that when you remove the strips, you allow the tempeh bacon to dry properly. Otherwise it gets soggy and limp. Lay strips on paper towels on a plate so that the oil gets absorbed properly.

Enjoy "bacon" adventures!

Making the Big Easy a Little Easier

So here I am in gorgeous New Orleans trying to bring my gluten-free macro life with me. This city uses butter for crude oil, so this is no easy task. When I did my customary pre-trip "gluten-free" "vegan" restaurant searches, I was met with resounding silence. I had a really rough time living in Nashville eating out, and that was WITH a lifetime of knowledge about the city and the secret restaurants and hang-outs.

Here is my strategy for traveling macro:

1. Search for local restaurants and grocery stores that cater to the health food community. Even rural Mississippi has one or two vegans.

2. Plan on packing a suitcase entirely devoted to food. I stock up on things like microwaveable veggies, brown rice, and healthy snacks from Trader Joe's.

3. The night before, do all your cooking and bring a cooler as your carry-on. This is how I usually travel with relatively "stable" dishes, like greens-based dishes or squashes. Daikon radish is not, was not, and will never be a "stable" dish. From the second it leaves the frying pan it smells like the recently exhumed dead, and it will earn you a special place in the heart of Homeland Security.

I stuff my suitcase with macro goodies like microwaveable brown rice and packets of tuna fish, and strap granola bars to my person like Rambo straps bullets. Last year when I flew up to stay with May in Boston, she told me I stashed granola bars like a drug mule.

Here in New Orleans, my plan is to stick to lots of steamed fish and vegetables. I'm allowing myself to eat omelets because I had my miso this morning, but I'm really trying to stay away from dairy and sugar, because I sure as heck am planning a stop on Bourbon Street. It would be wrong to pass it up. It's New Orleans, for crying out loud!!

Just remember. The great thing about using your luggage for food is that as you eat, you make room for all the new stuff you buy shopping.

I am studying for the GRE's right now. There's nothing graduate school testers love more than word-based math problems. Here's one for you:

Becky packed a 11" x 4" x 22" tupperware container of nishime vegetables. The combined cost of the ingredients was $17.

After eating the nishime, Becky puts a box of Kate Spade Aggie Shoes in Yellow, size 10.5 in the suitcase in a box that is 7" x 6" x 23". The cost of the shoes was $298, and worth every bleeding cent for that matter. How much more per square inch did the Aggie shoes cost than the vegetables?


And the real question... with cute shoes like this, does it really matter?